Singeing-machine.



PATENTED NOV. 21, 1905.

H. D. OPPENHEIMER.

SINGEING MAGHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 1.

No. 805,150. PATENTED NOV. 21, 1905. H. D. OPPENHEIMER. SINGEING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHBET 2.

ZZZ/ff 20 9 6m); ya i @W 3 Wm y flig f UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY D. OPPENHEIMER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO S. ,OPPENHEIMER & COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CO- PARTNERSHIP.

SINGEING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1905.

Application filed November 25, 1903. Serial No. 182,616.

To (LZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARRY D. OPPEN- HEIUER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Singeing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates toa machine particularly adapted for singeing pigs feet and other articles or products, and has for its object to provide a machine of this character which shall be simple in construction and designed to rapidly and efficiently perform its work.

It has generally been the practice in packing-houses in singeing pigs feet and other small pieces or parts of meats coated with bristles, hair, feathers, &c., to remove the extraneous matter by holding the article, whatever may be its character, in the hand in the presence of a hot flame. This operation is slow and entails the risk of burning the hand of the operator and not infrequently results in scorching the meat. With themachine herein described the work is performed expeditiously and without inconvenience, and in such manner as to remove the hair or bristles uniformly and thoroughly and without danger of burning the article being treated.

The invention comprises generally an endless conveyer or carrier provided with laterally-spaced supports upon which the meat or other articles to be treated are laid and by which they are carried through or in the presence of the singcing apparatus, which is so arranged as to project a very hot flame upon all sides of the articles as they are moved along by the carrier.

The invention consists of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter particularly described, specifically designated in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a singeingmachine constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of one of the supports upon which the article being treated is placed. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a transverse section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 4 l of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the ma chine, the lower part of the frame being broken away; and Fig. 6 is a detail of one of the chains which carry the supports.

The conveyer is mounted upon a suitable frame, which is preferably elongated, as shown, and may comprise the legs 10, connected by the side rails 11 and end rails 12, and may be made of any suitable material. Mounted on the ends of the frame adjacent the sides, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, are the wheels 18. The pair of wheels 13 at each end of the frame are preferably fixed upon a transverse shaft 14, journaled in brackets 15, each of which is secured to one end of the frame at the upper corner of the same. Carried by and running over the pair of sprocketwheels adjacent each side of the frame is an endless band or chain 16, to which are secured the supports to receive and support the pigs feet or' other articles being treated. The endless bands 16 and associated parts provide an endless carrier adapted to convey the articles to be treated to and through the singeing-flame. Preferably the wheels 13 are in the form of sprocket-wheels, and the endless conveyer consists of a pair of sprocketchains running over the sprocket-wheels. Motion may be communicated to one of the shafts by any suitable means, as through the medium of a belt-wheel 18, fixed thereon and as shown in Fig. 5. Secured to and connecting each side pair of the legs 10 arethe parallel tracks 19, which are adapted to support the upper stretch of the chains 16 at opposite sides of the frame, and these tracks may take the form of angle-bars bolted through the legs at the inner sides thereof, as shown in Fig. 4:.

The chains 16 consist of the links 20 and 21, each of which is provided at one side with a loop in which the adjacent side of the next link is pivoted, as in the manner of the ordinary sprocket-chain, and so as to permit of the turning of the chains around the sprocketwheels at the ends of the frame. The chains are provided with supports adapted to carry the articles to be singed and comprising in the present instance the following construction: Every alternate link, as 21 in the construction illustrated, is provided with an upwardly-extending bracket or arm 22, which is preferably opposite a corresponding arm at the other side of the machine. The arms 22 may be formed integral with their associated links, but are shown as being riveted at their lower ends to the inner faces of vertical plates 17 integral with the links.

The arms 22 need not necessarily be attached to only alternate links, but may be spaced farther apart, if desired. The spacing shown, howeverthat is, by securing the arms to alternate links has 5 been found in practice to give good results and has therefore been adopted. The arms 22, which are located at opposite sides of the machine, are preferably inclined outwardly or away from each other, as shown in Fig. at, m and are provided with inwardlyextending upwardly-inclined fingers, which may take the form of the pins 23 shown. These pins are fixed in the arms, and each arm may be provided With one or more of such pins, as I5 desired. Preferably, however, there are a plurality of the pins on each arm, and such pins decrease in length from the bottom of the arm, and in order to reduce to a minimum the surface of the articles engaged by the pins the ends of thelatter may be tapered, as shown.

With this arrangement the ends of the lower pins terminate sufficiently close together to support the article and prevent the same from dropping down between the chains, while the upper pins serve to hold the article against rolling down against the arms and in position to be most efliciently acted on by the singeing-flame. The pins 23 are of small cross-sectional area and owing to the spacing of the 0 arms 22 are spaced apart longitudinally of the conveyer, so that the flames may pass up between the pins and envelop or come into contact with practically the entire surface of the articles being treated.

Mounted at a convenient point along the car- -rier is any suitable device for providing the singeing-flame. Such device may take the form of a plurality of jets or burners 24E, arranged to project an intense flame into the space between the ends of the pins at the upper stretch of the carrier and against the pigs feet or articles carried thereby. These jets may be arranged in any suitable manner; but preferably they are located in pairs above and below the upper stretch of the carrier, and the jets of each pair are slightly offset from the median longitudinal line of the machine, so as to direct the flame along the sides as well as against the top and bottom of the material.

The ends of thejets are provided with a nu1nber of flame-outlets, as shown.

In the operation of the machine the pigs feet or other articles are merely dropped or laid on the pins at one end of the frame, so

as to occupy the position shown in Figs. land 4, being supported by the pins 23 of two or more opposite pairs of arms 22, and are carried by the conveyer into the space between the flame-pipes, which project an intense flame qO against the same, so as to singe off the bristles, hair, feathers, &c., depending on the nature of the article. The conveyer may be driven at any suitable speed necessary to keep the article in the presence of the flames a sufficient length of time to thoroughly remove the extraneous matter, and after passing the singeing-pipes the articles are carried over the end of the conveyer and drop into a bucket or other suitable receptacle 25.

If desired, the frame may be provided with a hood 26, extending above and below the jets 24, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and adapted to confine the heat and prevent blowing of the [lame by currents of air.

By means of the machine herein described pigs feet and the like may be thoroughly singed, and owing to the fact that the speed of the conveyer may be such as to move the material through the flame at such speed as to accomplish that end and the conveyer is kept constantly moving there is no danger of burning or scorching the flesh by holding it in the flame too long. Furthermore, the operator runs no risk of burning his hands, and the meat is not unnecessarily handled. The means provided for supporting the material are of such character that the meat is not punctured or torn, and therefore there is no danger of its becoming discolored. The operation is exceedingly simple, and while the work is quickly done it is also done thoroughly.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a machine of the class described, in combination, an elongated rectangular frame, parallel track-bars secured to the sides of the frame and longitudinally thereof, a bracket secured to each end of the frame adjacent the side thereof, shafts journaled in each end pair of the brackets, means for driving one of the shafts, a pair of sprocket-wheels fixed to each shaft, linked sprocket-chains running over the side pairs of wheels and having their upper stretch supported by the tracks, and each alternate pair of opposite links being provided with outwardly-inclined arms carrying a plurality of inwardly-projecting fingers decreasing in length toward the upper ends of the arms and having their ends tapered, and means for projecting a flame between the arms.

2. In a machine of the class described, in combination, a frame, a pair of endless sprocket-chains extending longitudinally of the frame, sprocket wheels carrying the chains, tracks mounted on the frame and by which the upper stretches of the chains are supported, arms carried by the chains, pins projecting inwardly from the arms and provided with tapered ends, and a series of jets for directing an intense flame into the space between the pins.

3. In a singeing-machine, in combination, an endless conveyer provided with laterallyspaced series of arms arranged in opposite pairs extending upwardly from the conveyer, the arms of each series being bent laterally away from the arms of the other series and provided with inwardly-extending fingers, and means for projecting a flame between the arms.

IIO

6. In a singeing-machine, in combination, a conveyer comprising a pair of parallel endless chains, each chain being provided with laterally-inclined arms carrying a plurality of inwardly-projecting fingers decreasing in length toward the upper ends of the arms, and means for projecting a flame between the. arms.

In testimony whereof I'afliX my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

HARRY OPPENHEIMER.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR B. SEIBoLD, ELIZABETH MOLITOR. 

